Mind Sports South Africa's (MSSA) blog on competitive gaming in South Africa from proto-computer gaming all the way through to the most modern. For more about MSSA go to: https://www.facebook.com/mindsportssa/
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Sunday, 31 December 2017

Getting the dreamers together.

Decision makers.

Back
in 1985 a number of dreamers banded together to do for gaming what
was being done for other accredited sports.

It was a
dream, and back then there were detractors who fiercely believed
that gaming would never be treated as a sport
in South Africa.
It should be remembered that chess was not considered to be a sport
in those days.

Through
hard-work, and sheer bloodymindedness, officials of what was to
become Mind Sports South Africa hounded the then Springbok Colours
Board and the South African National Olympic Committee.

Eventually
persistence paid off and MSSA (as the South African Wargames Union,
as it was then named) was accepted as an official national federation
in 1991.

Today,
there are still the dreams about which the volunteer administrators
are still passionate.

The
dream of official accreditation may have been achieved, but there are
so many, many, more dreams. Dreams like getting gaming into the
Olympics, dreams of increasing South Africa’s participation at
international events, dreams of improving
South Africa’s standard of play, dreams of ensuring increased
funding for gaming, and so many others.

However, dreams
are nothing without hard work and the coming together of like-minded
individuals.

MSSA,
and its affiliates, are the only bodies in South Africa that truly
have the interests of the gamer at heart. MSSA does not look at the
balance sheet, it looks at the long-term goals, and
the expected outcomes that will propel gaming forward.

All
those who dare to dream in a better gaming future in South Africa
should affiliate and be part of the solution.